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The Lights of Skaro

Page history last edited by PBworks 17 years, 10 months ago

Dodge, David - The Lights of Skaro (1954)

 

Not a mystery but a political thriller from the height of the Cold War.

 

Political figures have been mysteriously escaping from an Iron Curtain country in the Balkans not unlike Bulgaria. When the bestial Bulic, head of the Secret Police, engineers a coup, American correspondents Jess Matthews and Cora Lambert find they Know Too Much. They head for the border, with the aid of the local Resistance; but Bulic heads them off...

 

The story rattles along predictably but smoothly, the stories of the escapes provide interesting diversions, and Bulic steals every scene he appears in. The obligatory romance is confined to the barest minimum. And the heart of the book is its accurate description of life under the Communist version of Big Brother: daily loudspeaker broadcasts from dawn till night, Strength Through Joy sessions with loyal Party members; hard work, bad food, senseless laws and random violence; and behind it all the knowledge that any friend, any neighbour, any relative, could be waiting for the chance to turn you in. The much-travelled Dodge was writing from his own experience. This is a valuable reminder of how good intentions can make things go badly wrong.

 

Jon.

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